Forget me not
by Want2BFree
Summary: Hitomi has been back on Earth for two years. But will she hear her friends' wishes for her to return? And if she does, will she go back? Complete


Disclaimer:

I don't own Escaflowne, but don't sue me please. I'm broke already... unfortunately.

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The soft breeze that passed over the field was what awoke him from his dream. It passed over his face so softly it tickled. With a small smile his eyes slowly opened. The first thing he saw was the glorious globe in the sky; the Mystic Moon. It was seen as a cursed place and he too had believed that. Until she came down from that very same globe and it was then he began to wondered if all cursed places held the most beautiful beings imaginable. _Hitomi Kanzaki_, he thought. _The woman I love_.  
"You'll come back to me one day, won't you?" he whispered to the Earth.  
Smiling at her sweet memory he closed his eyes again. _Come back to me._

"Go back to him."  
"But what if he won't listen to me?" Yukari asked worriedly.  
Hitomi slowly shook her head. "Yukari, in a relationship you have to have arguments and disagreements. Then, when you work them out, there'll be a better and stronger trust and understanding between the two of you." Yukari starred at Hitomi for a moment and they both began to laugh.  
"Thank you for the advise Ms. Kanzaki: relationship counselor," Yukari teased with a laugh.  
At that moment they heard someone step behind them and they turned to see that it was Amano.  
"Well, I'll be on my way," Hitomi announced, grabbing her school bag and heading down the corridor.

"Lord Van where are you?"  
Sitting up, Van looked toward the familiar voice that was calling him. He smiled when he spotted Merle, his half cat, half human friend. She had her back to him, her tail swinging back and forth.  
"Merle!" he called. Her ears perked up and she broke into a smile when she turned and found him.  
"Lord Van," she cried and ran into his arms on all fours.  
"Merle cut that out," Van laughed as she licked kisses onto his cheek.  
"Allen said he wanted to speak with you," Merle said as if she suddenly remembered why she had been looking for him.  
"Is he at the castle?" Van asked as he stood up.  
Merle nodded, sitting just like a normal cat would. Van noticed that her tail began to swing back and forth behind her more slowly. When he looked at her he followed her eyes toward the Mystic Moon in the sky.  
"I miss her," Merle said softly.  
"Me too," Van said. There was a moment of silence but Van broke it saying, "Let's go. Allen must be waiting for us to get back." Merle nodded and followed.  
"Do you think she'll ever come back?" Merle asked.  
"Yes. I'm sure she will," Van answered with a smile.  
He looked beside him to see Merle's unconvinced face. "But it's been two years," she said.

_Two years_.  
Looking up at her ceiling Hitomi sighed, still unable to believe it. _It's been two years since I've been to Gaea_. She closed her eyes and smiled. She could still remember everyone, especially Van. A sudden cool breeze entered the room and blew her tarot cards to the ground. She quickly closed her window. Looking back she stared at the scattered cards on the floor. She smiled and went to pick them up.  
_I miss you Van_, she thought as she picked up a card.  
When she looked at it she froze; it was the card of death. Shaking her head she quickly gathered up all the cards, not bothering to check if they were right side up and put them back on her dresser.  
"It was nothing," she whispered to herself as her heart began to slam in her chest. _Van…Oh Van, I need to see you,_ she thought as tears began to run down her cheeks.  
"Hitomi it's late," her mother suddenly called from downstairs, "Why don't you go to sleep?"  
Wiping her tears away she forced her voice back to normal. "I will mom. Goodnight!" she called and turned off her lamp. Wrapping her covers tightly around her body Hitomi cried herself to sleep.  
_I miss you so much. Please be okay.  
_With one last tear that slowly ran down her cheek she fell into a deep sleep.

"Allen! I hope I didn't keep you waiting long," Van said as he entered the castle to find the knight of Asturia waiting by the entrance to the guest bedrooms. Hearing Van's voice Allen looked up and smiled.  
"It's been a while, Van."  
Merle, who was still beside Van, cleared her throat loudly and tapped one foot impatiently on the ground while crossing her arms. Allen looked at her for a moment then smiled ad looked back at Van, bowing.  
"Forgive me. I meant to say your Majesty."  
Van laughed. "Cut it out, Merle. Allen you are a friend. There's no need to address me like that."  
Merle was about to argue when the door to the guest bedroom opened and Millerna walked. Allen put an arm around her shoulders and said, "Van, Merle I'd like you to meet my wife, Millerna."  
"Allen, Millerna, congratulations," Van said.  
Celena shyly appeared beside Allen. "Greetings, Lord Van, king of all Fanalia," she said with a respectful bow. "Hello Celena Shezar," Van said. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other, hasn't it?" Millerna asked. "Yes it has. About a year or so," Merle calculated proudly.  
"Forgive me, Lord Van," Celena said shyly, "But that is a very beautiful pendant that you wear."  
Van looked down at Hitomi's pendant that hung around his neck.  
He smiled and said, "It belongs to the woman I love. The woman I miss with all my heart."  
There was a moment of silence.  
"I miss her too," Millerna finally said.  
"We all miss Hitomi," Allen added.  
"She'll come back," Van said quietly. "I know she will."

Everything was black.  
"Hello?" Hitomi looked around but she seemed to be floating around in nothingness.  
"Where am I?" she mused. Looking down at herself she saw that she was wearing her high school uniform. _What is going on?_ Suddenly there was the sound of many people crying; some softly and others sobbing.  
_What is that?  
_She could make out a long, loud wailing scream becoming louder and louder over the other peoples' cries until it became the only thing she heard. "Hitomi!" the wailing voice shouted. Even through the wailing she recognized the voice.  
"Van where are you?!"  
The only answer was more of Van's wailing screams. "Van!" she called. Suddenly it was dead quiet.  
"Hitomi?"  
The voice came out of nowhere but it was everywhere, all around Hitomi. "Merle," Hitomi called when she easily identified the voice. "Why did you leave?" Merle's voice asked.  
_Why did I leave? What is she talking about? Does she mean coming back home two years ago from Gaea?  
_Hitomi was confused but she kept listening to Merle.  
"You died, Hitomi."  
Merle's words hit Hitomi like a wave. "I…I'm not…I'm alive," she whispered.  
"You died and now Lord Van is dying of a broken heart."  
_Van is dying!  
_"Merle I'm alive! Tell Van I'm alive!" Hitomi shouted. "We all miss you, Hitomi. Please rest in peace dear friend." There was a moment of complete silence. "Van…is dying," Hitomi whispered as tears ran down her face uncontrollably. "No…Van…you can't be…," she choked out in a whisper as her tears kept running. "Van no…VAN!"

Their graves still held fresh flowers. Van put a red rose on each large tomb and sat down in front of them. "Hello mother, father and brother," he said with a smile.  
He sighed and closed his eyes. "I never thought I could miss anyone as much as the three of you," he began, the warm sun on his face.  
"Sometimes it feels so empty without her but other times her memory alone brings more light into my life than the sun itself. She's been gone from me for two years," he said quietly, slowly opening his eyes.  
"I miss her so much. I just want to see her again. I want to hold her, and kiss her and tell her how much I love her and when that happens I want time to stop so that she can be with me forever."  
He let a moment of silence go by before he stood up and smiled at his family's tombs.  
"I hope you didn't mind that too much. I just felt I had to tell someone. Thank you for listening."  
With that, he bowed and slowly walked away, looking up at the Mystic Moon. And for the first time since he'd ever laid eyes on it, a sense of sorrow came over him and he stopped. He was still looking up at Earth when he felt a small tear roll down his cheek.  
_Hitomi…come back to me._

Hitomi was walking home alone that afternoon. Yukari had said she had a date. A car's tire's screeched as it turned the corner onto the street and sped away.  
"Where are the police when you need them?" Hitomi muttered as she checked both ways before crossing. Suddenly she fell; her foot stuck in a pot hole on the road. When she tried to lift her foot out she winced in pain; she had injured her ankle. Suddenly there were tires screeching toward her. She looked up to see a car approaching quickly, music booming out of the car and vibrating onto the street. If she screamed she wouldn't be heard. And the driver seemed to be focusing on something else entirely instead of the road ahead.  
"This is it," she realized quietly to herself.  
What surprised her was that she wasn't afraid. The car was inches away from her. She sighed and closed her eyes.  
_Van_, she thought as an image of him came into her mind.  
And then she was gone.

He stood on the railing of his balcony, looking down at the long distance to the ground. He still wore the pendant around his neck that had lost its glow and shattered. It was then that he knew Hitomi had died. "There's nothing left," he thought out loud.  
Suddenly there was a light shining in front of him. Forcing his head up he felt his heart stop; in front of him was Hitomi, radiant in a white dress, angelic wings on her back. She smiled and extended her arms to him. He leaned towards her.  
"Lord Van!" Merle screamed from his bedroom door.  
But he would never hear her. He was already dead; in Hitomi's arms, his own wings spread. The empty shell that was his body fell down from the balcony but he was already flying with Hitomi.  
Towards heaven.

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I didn't entirely enjoy how I wrote this fanfic based on the idea I had in my head originally but I probably won't change it. Anyways, hope it wasn't that terrible a read.  
Please review. Thanks!


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